<p>ATLANTA – CUSC, a provider of shared branching services, had a record-setting year for transaction volume in 2001. According to recent switch reports from EDS and eFunds, shared branching transactions through the CUSC network have exceeded 38 million transactions. Consisting mostly of deposits, withdrawals, transfers and loan payments the transactions represent an average monthly volume of nearly 3.2 million. "In what only a few could actually envision 10 years ago," said CUSC President/CEO Michael Culbertson. "CUSC has created a national shared branching network. Credit unions throughout the industry are making shared branching a significant part of their member service strategy and it's obviously working." Shared branching transactions have doubled since 1998 with an average growth of 26%. The CUSC national framework includes every shared service center network within the credit union industry, bringing total access points to nearly 730 locations and 900 participating credit unions. According to CUSC Chief Operating Officer Scott McCall there is more to come and plans are underway to further enhance shared branching capabilities. "We are in the initial stages of building a state-of-the-art data switch that will move shared branching to its next generation," said McCall. "Soon credit unions participating in the CUSC shared service network will experience radical differences in the way shared branching is done- so stay tuned."</p>